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Hotels, restaurants and bars where you can still find the Old West in Arizona

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The area just north of the border was booming in the early 1900s, thanks to successful mining and ranching endeavors. Travelers wanted a hotel that lived up to their standards, and the Gadsden rose from the desert in 1907.
While legend has it that Pancho Villa rode his horse on the elegant marble staircase, history knows that staircase was the only thing to survive when the hotel burned in 1929.
No matter, as it was rebuilt even grander than before, with an elevator as well as bathrooms in every room (a rare and appreciated amenity in its day).
Details: 1046 G Ave., Douglas. 520-364-4481, thegadsdenhotel.com.
The Republic

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It took four years to build one of Arizona’s most stately hotels. When it opened in 1902, the mines were booming and the cash flowed like the copper being scraped from the ground.
The Copper Queen is said to welcome various spirits, and is best known for the one that makes her home in Room 315. According to legend, a prostitute took her life after the man she loved rejected her. She appears to carry a grudge, as its mostly men who report seeing her.
Speaking of spirits, the liquid variety is served by the bottle in the hotel’s elegant bar. Even if you’re not staying at the Copper Queen, it’s worth dropping by for a beer or cocktail.
Details: 11 Howell Ave., Bisbee. 520-432-2216, www.copperqueen.com.
Republic file photo

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Welcome to the former United Verde Hospital, built in 1926 to handle the health concerns of the miners who dedicated (or lost) their lives to pulling ore out of the mountain.
It was home to a handful of caretakers in the 1970s and '80s before it opened as a hotel (and a haunted one at that, given its past).
Be sure to visit The Asylum, the hotel’s bar recalling the building’s roots. The cozy and intimate establishment is a great place to share ghost stories, should anybody have one.
Details: 200 Hill St., Jerome. 888-817-6788, jeromegrandhotel.net.
Courtesy of Jerome Grand Hotel

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The reason this bar dates to only 1899 is because it was built after one of the fires known to ravage mining boomtowns in the 1800s.
The Old West oozes from its pressed-tin ceiling and its scarred, hard-working bar. Opening as the Senate Saloon, it was a billiards parlor during Prohibition’s alcoholic time-out.
Another reminder of the good old days? It’s cash only, unless you want to pay with a bit of gold dust.
Details: 206 Main St., Jerome. 928-634-2603, www.facebook.com/pages/Paul-Jerrys-Saloon.
Travis Fowler

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As the name implies, the bar had to find other means of support when Prohibition put a severe dent in the alcohol-serving business.
Opened in 1905 as a saloon, its owners had to pivot when the pendulum swung against booze. A brokerage occupied the second floor, and in 1914 a ticker-tape machine and stock board were installed to bring the latest news from Wall Street.
When the exchange closed in 1961, the alcohol started flowing a year later. Sitting on the edge of Brewery Gulch, it’s a great place to fill up on barbecue and burgers before exploring the rest of the historic district.
Details: 15 Brewery Ave., Bisbee. 520-432-1333, www.facebook.com/TheStockExchangeSaloon.
Doug Hocking

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Dating back to 1882, the Crystal Palace hasn’t always been the Crystal Palace. It served time as a theater, warehouse and bus depot before a 1964 restoration returned it to its rightful place as a bar, because that’s how the Old West would want it.
The Crystal Palace’s history is only enhanced by its location, in a town once home to famous lawmen and outlaws. Virgil Earp had an office on the second floor when he was Deputy U.S. Marshall, and “Buckskin” Frank Leslie, known for his shooting irons, served as a night watchman.
Details: 436 E. Allen St., Tombstone. 520-457-3611, www.crystalpalacesaloon.com.
Doug Hocking

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From the bar that was saved from a fire to the handful of bullet holes in the wall, the Palace looks much as it did when it was built along historic Whiskey Row long before there was electric light.
The Palace has been dated as far back as 1864, making it Arizona’s oldest drinking establishment. It also served as a brothel and gambling hall.
It was so loved by customers that in 1900, as flames raced through Whiskey Row, they pulled the bar across the street and bellied up to it in the firelight. That 1880s bar continues to receive bellies to this day.
Details: 120 S. Montezuma St., Prescott. www.whiskeyrowpalace.com.
Mark Henle/The Republic

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The area just north of the border was booming in the early 1900s, thanks to successful mining and ranching endeavors. Travelers wanted a hotel that lived up to their standards, and the Gadsden rose from the desert in 1907.
While legend has it that Pancho Villa rode his horse on the elegant marble staircase, history knows that staircase was the only thing to survive when the hotel burned in 1929.
No matter, as it was rebuilt even grander than before, with an elevator as well as bathrooms in every room (a rare and appreciated amenity in its day).
Details: 1046 G Ave., Douglas. 520-364-4481, thegadsdenhotel.com.